‘My Forbidden Disorder’ is a new play written and performed by a group of immigrant youth that fearlessly examines the challenges faced by gay, lesbian and transgendered youth and strongly condemns the homophobia they face at school and in our communities.

When Koyume Fukushima, age 17, was at her home in Japan, one of her friends revealed his sexual identity as being gay. The students in her school, including herself, ostracized and ignored him until he changed schools. When Koyume came to Victoria as an international student, she realized the injustice of her actions. “I saw this [same-sex] couple walking down the street and thought, ‘Wow, they look so beautiful.’” She was determined to make amends and raise awareness about homophobia here in Victoria as well as at home in Japan. Although English is her second language and she had no prior experience with theatre, Koyume wrote ‘My Forbidden Disorder,’ a play that is both sophisticated and heart-breaking.

Koyume teamed up with five other multicultural youth to produce ‘My Forbidden Disorder.’ The diverse cast of youth comes from Japan, the Philippines, Mexico and Canada. Though they all grew up with divergent cultural perspectives on same-sex relationships, all the youth agree that homophobia is a problem that needs to be dealt with. They invited youth from the South Island Pride Community Centre Society to be involved in the production and a truly youth-led project was born. The play is a powerful tool that illustrates the disastrous effects of homophobia in a way that speaks to the youth as well as the adults in our community.

‘My Forbidden Disorder’ would like to acknowledge the support the Theatre Inconnu, the BC Healthy Communities Youthcore Program and the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society (VIRCS), the Bayanihan Community Centre and the South Island Pride Community Centre Society.